When looking at religion in art, the art has often stayed true to the religion. However as time went on and art became more modern, artists began to stray away from staying on the path of the religiously acceptable leading to the accusations that religion and modern art are incompatible. To some today, the artwork by Andres Serrano is considered very disrespectful and not looked at as art due to how he decided to display the religious figure, Jesus Christ. Older or more conservative groups wouldn’t consider a deeper meaning behind his work as they would only see the art as disgraceful and a mockery of their faith. While other demographics who are more open minded, would look at the artwork and consider the symbolism of Jesus submerged in urine. According to Serrano, the piece was to make others really consider everything Christ has been through. Not only did he endure the torture of being nailed to a cross, he was forced to also endure the humiliation of having to publicly defecate on himself. The urine was present to showcase that not only did blood leak from his body but his urine and feces as well.
Serrano's work with urine, feces, blood, milk, and semen in photography also has important precedents in Performance Art, such as the work of Carolee Schneemann or Vito Acconci, artists both active in New York in the 1970s when Serrano lived in the East Village. His use of bodily fluids references previous artists and artworks who have done the same, such as Piero Manzoni, who created Artist's Shit in 1961 by supposedly filling ninety tin cans with his own feces. His images featuring religious iconography are heavily influenced by Baroque painting, for example, whilst his more abstract presentations of bodily fluids. Andy Warhol in the 1970s and early 1980s experimented with the chemical interactions of urine and copper in his Oxidation Paintings. Serrano's work with urine, feces, blood, milk, and semen in photography also has important precedents in Performance Art, such as the work of Carolee Schneemann or Vito Acconci.
Serrano considers himself simply an artist rather than a photographer, insisting that his camera is the tool he uses to express himself rather than a form whose techniques or conventions he is attached to. He produces images that combine the sacred, such as religious iconography, with the what might be called the profane: sex, bodies and their fluids, poverty, death, and/or violence. Even his studio portraiture presents controversial subjects in highly stylized ways, framing a homeless person or a loaded gun in the same way as they might be the subject in a Renaissance portrait or classical still-life.
Andres Serrano gave a statement about his art and what it is that inspires him, “In the fall of 1997 I was approached by Laurie Fierstein, a bodybuilder and writer, about an exhibition of women bodybuilders she was co-curating for The New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City. I said I was interested in participating and Laurie provided me with my first models, Tazzie Colomb and Yolanda Hughes. After that, I continued photographing several more bodybuilders, including seven women who competed in 'The 10th Annual Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic'. My interest in these women is one of curiosity and amazement. I pay tribute to them, much like the Greeks who admired the male physique in search of an aesthetic ideal. I am also fascinated by the notions of 'masculinity and femininity' and 'power and sex' these women embody and dispel. To some, these pictures are intriguing, to others threatening. Ultimately, they reveal as much about our attitudes to sex and gender as they do about the women themselves.”
Andres Serrano’s Piss Christ is considered to be his most controversial pieces. His intention wasn't to shock the audience, but invite them to voice their opinions and highlight key components in history that were related to the religious narrative. The Immersions series that Piss Christ is a part of, is multiple religious devotional objects submerged in his bodily fluids all either containing yellow, red, and orange, which are colors the evoke happiness, optimism, and energy. Serrano’s art is looked at to be thought-provoking, creating debates on whether it was art or just blasphemy.
Serrano has continued to deny that his art was meant to shock people, but yet he has still earned the reputation of being provocative with his artwork. He is a master at controversy and riling up the public with his contentious work. His artwork showcases how artist invite people to reconsider their preconceptions in order for them to see the bigger picture and find a new sense of appreciation for the world around them.